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Topic: More fun with Soul Caliber (Read 1506 times)

I've been playing Soul Caliber again trying to grind out some costume parts and hit upon a way of modeling some of the themes seen in the combat engine.

NEW TRICKS

Crushing Kick (unarmed trip trick): You also inflict lethal unarmed damage equal to your Str modifier + the amount your check beat the targetís. You may use this trick a number of times per scene equal to your unarmed combat feats (minimum 2).

Finish Him! (forte attack trick): If you damaged your target last round and they have not damaged you since your last initiative count, your threat range is increased by 2. You may use this trick a number of times per session equal to your starting action dice.

Paw & Thorn (edged cheap shot trick): If this cheap shot reduces the targetís speed you also inflict 1 + your Dex modifier stress damage and the target is sprawled. You may use this trick a number of times per scene equal to your melee combat feats (minimum 2).

BASIC COMBAT FEATS

Duelistís Pressure Once the tide of battle turns your way, you never let up.Benefit: When you attack a single opponent, if you damaged that opponent last round, you gain a +2 morale bonus to your attack check. Each time you attack and damage a single opponent, they suffer a Ė2 morale penalty to all attack checks against you until they succeed on an attack check against you, you attack a different opponent, or the scene ends.

MELEE COMBAT FEATS

To the Hilt If you can't get them with the full thrust, you can still give them a bruise the shape of your hilt to remember you by.Benefit: If one of your 1-handed melee attack checks fails by 1, 2, or 3, you still inflict 1 + your Str modifier subdual damage to the target. If one of your 2-handed melee attack checks fails by 1 or 2, you still inflict 3 + your Str modifier subdual damage to the target.Special: If the damage roll of a successful attack would have added an attribute modifer other then Strength, this damage may be determined using that modifer.

UNARMED COMBAT FEATS

Dirty Boxing If you can't land a clean hit, you can certainly land a dirty one.Benefit: If one of your unarmed attack checks fails by 1, 2, or 3, you still inflict your Str modifier subdual damage to the target. If you have 2 or more hands empty when one of your unarmed attack checks fails by 1 or 2, you still inflict 2 + your Str modifier subdual damage to the target.Special: If the damage roll of a successful attack would have added an attribute modifer other then Strength, this damage may be determined using that modifer.

The language isn't clear about whether or not subsequent attacks upon that single opponent increase the penalty, or if it can be suffered by more than 1 opponent at a time as long as you're not using "attack multiple enemies with a single action" type moves

Named penalty type: morale. Multiple instances cannot stack as a result . The stipulation "attacking a single opponent" should rule out triggering the penalty with multiple opponent actions. Using a multi-target attack after setting the penalty would remove it, as you've attacked someone else (even if you attacked them too ).

Looks technically sound (which isn't surprising, really), but I'm unfamiliar with the source material so I'm not sure which fighting style you're trying to replicate. Which is why I didn't comment originally.

Pommel Bash looks mechanically fine, but I can't get my head around what it's supposed to represent (and it seems a little odd to me - Pommel Bash seems like it should be an attack trick that stuns people temporarily, based on what I've seen in other games).

Duelist's Pressure represents what happens when a much better player puts a molly whopping on a lesser player and they start to suck at hurting you (I have been on both sides of that in many a fighting game)

Logged

~Do you think its possible that someone else is doing this very same thing at this very same moment?~~D~

Looks technically sound (which isn't surprising, really), but I'm unfamiliar with the source material so I'm not sure which fighting style you're trying to replicate. Which is why I didn't comment originally.

Fair enough. Y/N intuitive recognition and levels of acceptance are useful feedback to me . From your reply I see a need to put more evocative framing around the raw mechanic. It balanced (maybe) but it's not clear or flavorful.

Quote

Pommel Bash looks mechanically fine, but I can't get my head around what it's supposed to represent (and it seems a little odd to me - Pommel Bash seems like it should be an attack trick that stuns people temporarily, based on what I've seen in other games).

Its sort of the melee equivalent of throwing a cross, missing, and saying 'aw hell with it' and whiping your elbow into their face on the way by - which is ussually where the stunning comes from in most game treatments. You missed, but you clip them a bit just to say 'hi' . In Soul Caliber terms it deals with a lot of the characters having button-to-result change ups when they get in extremely close. Smacking with the butt end of the weapon because you're too tight to get off a full bodied swing. Basically I wanted a way to add little thumps and jostles like that without having to remap the whole 5 foot squares/ajacency rule for detailed dueling. My other goal was to make it NOT a trick. It's intended more of a dirty/life-or-death fighting mindset rather than a specifc move. Always, ALWAYS punish your enemy. Hmm. Yeah. Pommel Bash is way too sterile a name for that . And upon consideratio it also needs to be limited to adjacent targetss to play up that in your face quality.